by Alan | Jul 16, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery, Don't!
Watched a butchery of handouts today. When handouts help make a point, give the listener a take-away or help keep them paying attention where they otherwise might be jotting stuff down, add things not covered in the talk, or provide context and organization to the...
by Alan | Jul 13, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery
One of the things I do with my classes on training and communication skills is to have folks focus on a particular skill while talking about just about anything. I beg, plead, joke, and remind that in this skill-building session, I’m not really concerned at all...
by Alan | Jul 13, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery
Taught a class this week to technical folks who need to learn how to train/teach/convey. Training is such an interesting field. Very few folks set out to be trainers. Most folks learn some content or gain some experience, are asked to speak or train, like it (or...
by Alan | Jul 9, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery
One of my pet peeves is the constant referrals to time that speakers make. As a rule of thumb, I advocate that the only person in the room who should know about time is the speaker. I frequently hear things like, “Well, I’ve only got a few minutes...
by Alan | Jul 7, 2006 | Communication skills, Content, Delivery, Don't!, Leadership
Heard a business leader end a a bi-weeklly charge to the troops with “I have some important news that’s related to our strategy. But I’m not ready to tell you yet, so until we talk again, enjoy your weekend and have a productive two weeks.” ...
by Alan | Jul 2, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery
Had the interesting pleasure of experiencing a black preacher103 in a predominantly white church today. Last week I observed a white preacher make a joke that had racial undertones that I thought was completely out of place, and made me feel uncomfortable. I...
